Peter Argyropoulos
-
Posts
136 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by Peter Argyropoulos
-
-
It is sad, but that's how things are now. Not everything made in China is inferior or poor quality. China will build whatever you spec. Is the iPhone crap? Tolerances and quality at up to the customer.
I wish that companies would realize that people will may a little more for products made locally or even globally. I like German stuff, always have. I would buy a made in USA tool. Canadian made, sure. But if it costs 2-3 times more, Ni Hao ....
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I know it's not all inferior, and I have stuff made in China as well. What I find offensive is when production of top dollar products gets moved to China and the cost doesn't come down. It's why I don't buy Carhartt products anymore. $50 or $60 for a pair of US union made work pants is one thing. The same or higher price for those pants made in China by cheap labor is offensive.
I don't agree completely that Chinese workers are automatically able to make industrial or tool products to the same specs as their Western counterparts for the simple reason that even among Western workers, there are different levels of quality standards and expectations built into our various cultures and the Chinese, who have lived for many decades under communism, have a very low standard of quality ingrained in their culture. American made hand tools tend to be slightly less refined than German made hand tools but still miles ahead of many other hand tools. There were tradeoffs that a consumer could take into account when making a purchase that don't exist today if all the major tool manufacturers are going to produce in China. If I had a choice between similar impact drivers from the EU or from China, and the EU model cost $100 more, I'm pretty sure it would be a better tool based on my own past experience.
Aside from quality issues, I also think it's just plain sad when Western countries eliminate industrial production from our societies. It's already making us less technically adept.
-
Why do you think it is bad it's made in China?
It leaves a bad taste in my mouth when premium brands which are known for quality take their production from wherever it was (North America or Europe) and move it to China and don't pass on any savings to consumers. In my experience it signals a desire to increase profits in all ways possible, including design changes that take products toward a "build to a price" philosophy.
There is NO WAY a fresh, Chinese employee is going to be as concerned about the quality of the work they do for a brand like Hilti or Fluke or whatever, as the people are who have been making those products natively for years because they don't know the brand histories and have no incentive to work hard to maintain the reputation of some white guys from other countries other than the few bucks a day they're thrown to do their job. If you were repping for Szenzen Lucky Tools you would probably be less inclined to sell as hard as you maybe are to sell DeWalt tools, no?
The products I've seen from China from brands which previously manufactured here or in Europe (including Hilti...) were of lower quality than they had been before. The only reasons a manufacturer decides to move production to China is to lower costs or to give them better access to the local market. Either way, it means that I don't count as much as a customer as I did before.
-
Sad to see that the batteries are now made in China. Mine has batteries from Poland. Where is the new tool made?
-
I'm already liking it! I'm pretty much the only tool junkie I know in real life, so at work I have no one to talk to about tools. They just stick to their Ryobi junk and white Makita stuff and get that glazed look in their eyes when you start talking torque, country of origin or tool steel hardnesses
-
1
-
-
With the two drills I had the problem started almost instantly. By the time I took the second one back the series had been discontinued, so the only option would have been to get another one shipped (it's still sold online) or upgrade to the new Milwaukee kit with the new, 1200 in-lb drill. Since I had gotten the Makita at a lower price than the Milwaukee, I really didn't feel like forking out another hundred bucks for a brand new, untested tool.
That problem aside, I think that if the chuck had worked properly I would have been really happy with the drill. It had more than enough power and battery life for what I generally need. The impact driver in the kit was definitely a step down from what I'm used to, which is a Hilti 14.4V with two torque ranges. That thing totally kicks ass for the kind of work that I do, and the Makita in the kit had NONE of the finesse that the Hilti has. So for now I'm back to using my wobbly Hilti impact and my trusty Metabo drill, but I'm looking at upgrading in the next few weeks or months. I'm either going with a new Hilti impact and Hilti drill, or the Hilti impact and a Fein brushless drill. In the meantime, I better go play the lottery
-
I've been using a Hilti 14.4V impact driver for the last six years or so and it hasn't let me down once. The original batteries are still working like new. I've used it for most of my drilling plus fastening over the years and it's been more of a go-to tool than I ever imagined it would be. Just lately the chuck is starting to wobble a little, so I'm in the market for something new and may get another Hilti.
-
So for my first non-intro post, I'm going to relate my experience with the XPH07 drill as a part of the XT257M kit from Home Depot (online only at this point).
First off, it's a badass beast, no doubt, but it fell short for me as a pro user - twice. I bought it based on online reviews praising its power, and no complaints in that respect, but the chuck was an epic fail in my experience. I ended up exchanging it once and finally returning the second unit because the chucks on both of the drills refused to lock most of the time. They would get to where the sprag clutch should be getting tight then sounded like all hell was breaking loose inside the chuck and never tighten, allowing me to spin the clutch and motor by hand. The only way to lock the bit in the chuck was to hold the chuck and run the drill which isn't safe or convenient to do with a hex shank auger bit or a hole saw in a drill as powerful as this one is. I lost one bit in the floor from this, and spent a lot of time pissed off on the job. When I finally returned it to a different store from where I bought the first one and exchanged it for the second one, I checked out one of the XPH07 drills they had on display and was able to get it to start sounding chowdery as well. This has to be a series issue and not just that the first two I owned got through QC late on a Friday.
I'm curious whether anyone else has had this same experience or not with the XPH07.
-
Hi all! I just found out about this forum from one of AvE's videos. I'm an electrician, mostly resi remodeling with a strong background in kitchens and baths, so lots of custom stuff that requires lots of tools to get the job done right (at least that what I tell my wife...)
My approach (generally) is to spend as much as I can afford to and get the best tool possible for what I need and then wear it out. I'm not brand loyal at all. I've owned a Fein drill (the original series of 18V hammer drill), a Metabo drill, various Milwaukee drills and the incredible (and no longer available...) Milwaukee Hatchet, a Hilti 14.4V impact driver (my all time favorite tool), Hilti rotary hammers, and most recently (and no longer...) a Makita drill and impact kit.
My hand tools are mostly all German - Knipex pliers and wrenches; Wiha drivers. There are a few Ideal and Klein wire strippers among them, some T&B and Panduit crimp tools and the all useful Lenox 9-in-1 (?) multi-driver.
My test equipment is mostly Agilent/Keysight for whom I've done quite a bit of field testing over the years, some AEMC, some Amprobe and some Hioki. Again, spend wisely, buy rarely.
It's good to have found the forum and I'll stop by when I can and try to answer any questions as well
Makita XPH07 hammer drill
in Power Tools
Posted
I didn't try and get it repaired because although the drill was great, the impact was crappy enough that I didn't feel like going through the trouble. I really need a new impact, not a new drill, so...